Carpet Protection While Selling Condo

I have about 1400 ft of carpet that's about to be installed in my condo. We're putting the condo up for sale very shortly after the install. However, we will still be living there while its on the market.

The problem we're facing is that we have a small dog that sometimes pees where he shouldn’t. My wife and I are also plagued with accidental spills of various beverages. My first thought is to lay out that plastic throughout the house (not sure what mil is, maybe 6 or 7?) and staple it down on the floor. We have two flights of carpeted stairs that will also need this plastic. Is this a good idea? Will there be a problem of staples remaining in the floor once we take the plastic up? Will there be indentations in the floor where the staples used to be?

I've also considered that adhesive carpet plastic, but it turned me off when there was mention of residue coming off onto the carpet itself.

Any suggestions?

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Hold off on the carpet install, have the new owner pick a color they like or just give them a credit.
Sorry to say but in most cases your going to be waiting at least a year to sell, longer for a condo. I hope I'm wrong but that's the avaerage right now.

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Two things: Our carpet is really really bad right now. It would be extremely embarrassing to bring someone in to show the condo and have them see what's spilled on the carpets, not to mention the paint we've let fall on the floor knowing we were going to remove it anyway.

And as far as waiting, we plan on moving out of the condo regardless in a few months so if we can make it until then, there will be minimal traffic on the floors after that point.

Get some runners or carpet remnants for the heavy traffic areas like Jaz said. Don't do the plastic, you'll be tearing that up and tripping over it in a week at best.

I don't know pricing much, but if you're going to replace the carpet, maybe go with laminate? Not for your desires, but it would pretty the place up, and it seems fairly low cost. Just another option to think about.

OK, Thanks everyone. I'll give it some more though. From what I've read, I've concluded that we should at least make it the very last thing we do. Also, with plastic, we're just asking for trouble. And Ironlight has a good point, where I was thinking it would show the buyers that we're taking care of our investment, walking around on plastic everywhere might be a turnoff to some buyers.

I'm thinking, we should just move out of there before we put it on the market.

@ dougp23, I thought about laminate but unless I buy some really good quality laminate (which is not cost effective for me) I run into the dog problem with him messing on the floor and it being a huge problem.

According to the real estate agents that do work for, don't expect to make back what you spend on carpet when you sell it. The common practice now is to give a flooring allowance. The odds of the buyer likeing what you like is remote.

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Sorry to say but in most cases your going to be waiting at least a year to sell, longer for a condo. I hope I'm wrong but that's the avaerage right now.

I realize the USA real estate market has had trouble, but we don't even know where the op is located. If he is in Toronto or Vancouver or New York that condo could go in 3 days. Best to get advice on projected days on the market by a local Realtor.

If you've made up your mind to recarpet, inexpensive area rugs like Jaz suggested work really well to protect new carpet underneath.

If the RE market in your area is not slow, then hold off until you move out. Don't forget to leave a bit of furniture behind for a staged effect.

We plan on pricing our condo relatively low but we also plan on selling our condo ourselves to save money. Our main goal is to sell our condo as fast as possible. That said, I have no idea how fast it will sell. I live in Anchorage, Alaska and from what I understand, we've been one of the less affected regions in the country during the home crisis. There are 2 or 3 other condos in our complex that have been sitting on the market for at least 4-6 months. We do plan on coming in below the other ones but who knows what will be low enough for someone to buy ours in a short period of time.

What about this idea. What if I replace the existing carpet with the cheapest but best looking carpet I can find, but then offer a carpet allowance to sweeten the deal? Is that overkill? Again, our current carpet is in no condition to show.

I came up with this idea because after running some numbers last night, it just would not make since for us to move out of the house before we sell. But that would mean, we keep the dog in there and risk having some accidents here and there. I even thought about getting a cheap carpet cleaner or something similar and cleaning big messes as soon as they happen (if they do).

This is off topic, but IMHO pricing your house low and trying to sell it yourselves is nothing more than a recipe for taking a long time to sell it and getting less than its worth when you do. You're MUCH more likely to sell it fast if you go through a broker, and the 3% you'll pay (you would still need to pay 3% to the broker that represents the buyer) them will more than be paid for by the price they get for you.

Anchorage may be different...maybe everyone sells their own house up there. But here in the Washington DC area a good realtor really does add a lot of value to the process.

And if you want to sell it fast, replace the carpet but with something cheap and neutral. It's all about the impression that it makes...that the property has been well cared for that they can "picture" themselves in it (ergo something neutral). They are not going to got on their hands and knees and inspect the quality of the carpet.

Put the dog in a crate. He won't want to pee in his "nest", you might actually have a house trained dog when you move into your new house (unless there is some medical reason and he's just plain incontinent).

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Unfortunately, buyers buy with their eyes and emotion first. Holding back the new carpet and giving a credit sounds good, but it will hamper your sales prospects. Nobody wants to see old used carpet in their new dream home.

My advice would be to install the new carpet and use the open house carpet protection stuff that they use during home shows. If you put it down well, it will not detract from the appearance and shows you care.

This is off topic, but IMHO pricing your house low and trying to sell it yourselves is nothing more than a recipe for taking a long time to sell it and getting less than its worth when you do. You're MUCH more likely to sell it fast if you go through a broker, and the 3% you'll pay (you would still need to pay 3% to the broker that represents the buyer) them will more than be paid for by the price they get for you.

Anchorage may be different...maybe everyone sells their own house up there. But here in the Washington DC area a good realtor really does add a lot of value to the process.

And if you want to sell it fast, replace the carpet but with something cheap and neutral. It's all about the impression that it makes...that the property has been well cared for that they can "picture" themselves in it (ergo something neutral). They are not going to got on their hands and knees and inspect the quality of the carpet.

Put the dog in a crate. He won't want to pee in his "nest", you might actually have a house trained dog when you move into your new house (unless there is some medical reason and he's just plain incontinent).

Very good information. I guess I will shop around and try to find an agent that doesn’t charge too much. Anchorage sounds similar to DC in that both normally go through agents. I planned on trying it on my own for a couple months and then once the summer hits, hire an agent if it hasn’t sold. Part of my problem was the misunderstanding of what you get for your money. Again, speed is the main goal so anything that works towards that will be most beneficial.

@diynot Keeping the existing carpet in there is not an option at all. It will be replaced but it's just a matter of how I deal with high traffic areas. I think I'm going to invest in a cheap carpet cleaner and just make sure we do things to prevent spills or accidents on the new carpet. Perhaps keeping certain areas of the house off limits. This is starting to come together.

As far as my dog, he'll be in a crate while we're away and we'll just have to take him away from the condo to use the bathroom instead of in the garage to keep unpleasant smells to a minimum.

Using a Realtor is solid advice. You will get top exposure and thus more showings right away. The longer it sits on the market, the more of a stigma it will get regarding too high a price or condition of the home. When this happens, a Seller ends up having to sell below market value.

As far as the money you think you may save on commission, you likely wont in the long run. Realtors are trained pro's who know the legalities involved. These contracts can get complicated and often the private Seller ends up running back and forth to the lawyers anyway. That adds up quick.

Add in, all the marketing costs, the open houses and screening out unqualified Buyers AND the fiduciary duties the Realtors owe you regarding all your private info staying private.
Interview several different ones just like you would a contractor. Its all about the connection and trust you feel. Go with your gut about who has YOUR best interest in mind.
Keep it clean and stink free for all showings (crack open a window and try to avoid those cheap glade-type air fresheners)
Happy selling!!